desegregation

[ dee-seg-ri-gey-shuhn, dee-seg- ]

noun

1. the elimination of laws, customs, or practices under which people from different religions, ancestries, ethnic groups, etc., are restricted to specific or separate public facilities, neighborhoods, schools, organizations, or the like.

Other Words From

• deseg·re·gation·ist noun
• anti·de·segre·gation adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of desegregation¹

First recorded in 1950–55; de- + segregation

Example Sentences

The court-ordered desegregation of the University of Alabama had finally reached its day of reckoning.

From Time

As a showdown loomed over the desegregation of the University of Alabama, Wallace framed the crisis as one of an over-reaching federal government.

From Time

The following school year, the district faced a $3 million shortfall, roughly the amount of money it had received annually from the state under the desegregation order.

From ProPublica

For decades, funding from the desegregation case buoyed Benton Harbor and brought national recognition to its schools.

From ProPublica

He insisted that the paper provide informed commentary on public affairs and thought this was especially important during the 1960s with the disputes over desegregation.

From Washington Post

In the 1970s, conservatives who had lost the moral battle on civil rights demanded exemptions to desegregation.

From The Daily Beast

The act even gave the federal government new power to enforce school desegregation through the aid to education it provided.

From The Daily Beast

Surely the Goldwater debacle had demonstrated a severe shortage of ducks in the anti-desegregation ranks?

From The Daily Beast

Some on the far right may sincerely believe their liberties are being threatened, but they believed that about desegregation too.

From The Daily Beast

Strom responded by writing the first draft of the “Southern Manifesto,” pledging “massive resistance” to desegregation.

From The Daily Beast

The second question of usage concerns the words integration and desegregation.

From Project Gutenberg

The local commander also arranged for the desegregation of some off-base social facilities in a effort to improve black morale.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• assimilation